Twenty-One Happenings in Summer Scenarios
by MixnSpice
Summary: A collection of Kamunami shorts for the months of June, July, and August 2019. August, Day 7: Free Day. Summary: Izuru takes Chiaki out on a flight, allowing her to experience the skies on the same level as dragons do. Dragon Maid AU.
1. June: Day 1

**June Prompts:**

1\. Mountain Climbing/Hiking

2\. Camping

3\. Amusement Park/Ferris Wheel

4\. Water Fight/Water Guns/Water Balloons

5\. Hide and Seek

6\. Swimming

7\. Free Day

* * *

_**June, Day 1: Mountain Climbing/Hiking**_

**Summary:** During the middle school's hiking trip up the mountains, two students lag behind their respective classes. At the same time, Chiaki re-evaluates a thought about someone from another class.

* * *

_Step. Step._

_Step. Step._

_Step. Step._

The ground beneath is soft. Wait, maybe that isn't the right word; it isn't fully soft to the point of sinking too deep like quicksand, but it did feel like an inch or so can sink in. At the same time, the ground's rather rough to walk in as well.

Soft and rough, huh? That's a bit contradicting, when you think about it. It's kinda funny.

_Trudge. Trudge._

_Trudge. Trudge._

_Trudge. Trudge._

Chiaki isn't really sure how much time has passed. It couldn't have been that long, but even at this distance, her legs feel like jelly; her pacing slowed down a bit compared to normal. It might be the laws of gravity when it came to hiking mountains. It might be the status of the mountain's ground. It might be a combination of both.

On the other hand, even though they're both behind their schoolmates, Izuru didn't seem to struggle as much. It's hard to tell from this angle, although his stance and pace appeared stable. He looks like he's doing fine for a middle-schooler, actually. Then again, it's not like someone like her can keep up with him anyway. It'd be a big, unlikely miracle if she managed to do so.

Until now, she never really saw him face-to-face before since he's from another class. Back then, the only context she had about him were less than nice things said about him from the others. She isn't one to believe in gossip and rumors, but in terms of appearance, Izuru does look the part of a delinquent.

That assumption can end up being wrong, of course, as video games taught her that.

A few meters passed ahead. Without as much as pausing a step, he spoke up, breaking the silence.

"We're almost halfway."

A small mumble was her reply from this distance. "That's good to know."

The hike on this level is a lot tougher compared to how it was below. If it felt like she's about to collapse earlier, there's an bigger chance for it to happen now. It's so tempting to stay back and rest for a bit.

But if that happened, Izuru would be gone by the time she recovered.

Chiaki momentarily looked up, away from watching her steps on the ground onto the surroundings in front of her. The distance between her and Izuru was a bit reasonable earlier, at least a few feet away at most.

Now, though? She's at least a few meters behind him. Considering how easy this hiking trip is for him, it won't be surprising if the gap widened even more later on.

She'll be left behind at this point.

Despite the heavy feeling of her feet, she forced them up. Little by little, she'll catch up with him.

_Rush. Rush._

_Rush. Rush._

_Rush. Rush._

She's almost there. As she ignored the throbbing and aching, she found herself almost there, at least five feet or less away from him. Almost there. Almost there.

_Slip._

A soundless gasp comes out of her. Combined with force and overexertion, a foot twisted itself on a less stable ground. Within a few seconds, at best she'll be faceplanted onto the hard ground. At worst, she'll be tumbling down this mountain.

Before either can happen, a pair of hands grabbed the straps of her bag from the front, hoisting her up before she made impact with the ground.

She met up with the person who helped her back on her feet, who's now checking for any injuries. Thankfully, she didn't have any. Izuru's expression didn't change as usual; though she had a feeling he's a bit sterner this time.

"I'm fine." She blurted out, answering his unasked question.

He checked over her once again. "You should rest."

"I'm fine, really."

Her insistence didn't fully convince him, but it did give him a more creative solution instead of forcing her to rest, whether she liked it or not. With a completely straight face and tone, he then suggested,

"If you won't rest, then I suppose I'll have to carry you instead."

Izuru didn't give her time to think of more protests; the next moment, she ended up giving in to that second option as the boy hoisted her up in a piggy-back ride. That admittedly got her worried if she'd end up making them both fall down at first, but as with his uncanny stamina on the hike earlier, somehow he managed to do so again while carrying her on his back at the same time.

Still, just in case...

"You sure you're okay with this?"

It's hard to read his thoughts as his face isn't visible from this view. "If I wasn't, I wouldn't have offered to do so in the first place."

"Hm, that's fair." She lightly shifted into a more comfortable position.

Guess that Izuru's not really a bad person like her schoolmates believed.


	2. June: Day 2

_**June, Day 2: Camping**_

**Summary:** Somehow, this ended up being the least craziest of ideas he's ever participated in. Or, wherein Izuru goes camping with Chiaki.

* * *

Rather surprisingly, for a lot of crazy ideas Izuru's friend had, so far this is the least baffling one as of yet. The young boy lightly shuffled in his seat to a more comfortable position. The tent is of sufficient quality, he'll admit that. There's enough space here for two people to reside inside as though it were a room.

Still, that doesn't change that fact that...he can say that there are a few things about this that aren't quite as accurate to the actual one practiced by many.

He cast an aside glance towards said friend, who's currently in the middle of an online game event on her console. "Does this truly count as camping?"

"Hmm." Chiaki thoughtfully hummed without losing focus on the game. "We're outdoors. We have a tent, two flashlights, and two sleeping bags." A beep indicated the victory of a long, hard-fought match. "We even have food and water ratios."

"We're literally at the back of your house."

For a moment there, despite not changing his tone of voice, it's almost as though he channeled his older twin brother's famed deadpan snark.

Still, she nonchalantly shrugged at that response. "It's outside, right? So it still counts."

"Of course you'd think that. I shouldn't be surprised. Then again, I can't fault you for that. We don't exactly have any prior experience for this." With that, he also added, "It'd be disastrous if say, a wild boar happens to come near our camp."

"We don't have boars around here, though."

He snorted, bemused. "Another factor why your decision about the camp location ended up being reasonable."

Several moments later, the sounds from her game stopped as the console beeped, signifying it being turned off. "Hey, Izuru."

"Yes?"

"If we were out camping in the more usual place, like a forest or something, what would you do if a boar did come over to our camp?" She innocently asked.

"I wouldn't be as foolish to fight it if that's what you're thinking."

"In my case, if it minds its own business then I guess I'd leave it alone." She straightened herself to a more relaxing sitting position. "It's a different thing if it tried attacking either of us, though. In that case, we can run."

"It sounds realistic enough."

"Either that, or if it goes after you, I can take one of the tent's poles and maybe strike it down."

"You had me." He blinked for a second. "Here, I thought you'd had enough sense to know that course of action will end as well as you'd think it would. In which case, it won't. Reality isn't like Monster Hunter. You'd be better off escaping yourself if it came to that."

"I know. That's why it's only a 'what if' scenario." A light sigh escaped from her. "Still, I don't think I can leave you behind while I run. It wouldn't sit well with me, I guess."

"I suppose I can agree with that." He closed his eyes. "That said however, I'd be more likely to pull you along in escaping than attempt to fight the boar. Of course, if I have a weapon like a gun, that can end up being a different case."


	3. June: Day 3

_**June, Day 3: Amusement Park/Ferris Wheel**_

**Summary:** The two AI's both spend time at a real-world amusement park. One thing doesn't go as well, but overall, it's an alright experience.

* * *

It's rather nice of Hajime to treat them for today. He even gave them their own small allowances to spend at their leisure. Well, he might have called them a small amount, but after calculating and analyzing the exact amount, World Destroyer knew it was anything but that. If AI Chiaki had noticed it, she probably didn't care as much.

Which brings them here: an amusement park. Unlike the one back in the virtual island, this one's a bit fancy, just not on the same level.

There were a lot of people around when the two arrived inside. Fortunately for both, no one saw anything out of the ordinary about them. If anything, they're probably dismissed as yet another teenage couple. If that's what the humans want to think, then so be it. Neither are really in the mood to mingle with strangers.

They've spent some time walking, thinking of what to do first. There were plenty of rides to try, none of which managed to catch his interest.

A tug at his sleeve. World Destroyer paused, turning to face AI Chiaki.

"Destroyer, maybe we should try that one." As soft as her voice was, he can sense the tone of finality in it.

He glanced towards where his current companion pointed a finger at. Ah, of course. Even in the real world, games of any sort are sure to lull the other AI in.

It's a bit difficult to not let a small curl from on the corner of his lips as she beamed when they both walked towards the tent.

The man managing that game tent had a confident smirk as the two handed over some money in exchange for the game's ammunition. "Well, best of luck to you two." He's thoroughly convinced it'd be easy to rig a young couple out with easy cash.

A big mistake that was.

A big shame how it went in the end, however. Both of them ended up proved to be too good as the man running the game stands lost prizes more than the AI's lost money (which only happened once in their case), and thus they're no longer allowed to participate in that particular game. If things went that guy's way, then that'll probably be the case for the other games as well.

"The fact that he resorted to a childish solution only showed how petty he was." World Destroyer said in an attempt of some sort to lift AI Chiaki's spirits better. "He wasn't worth our effort."

"He didn't have to be a sore loser about it, though. At least it was fun while it lasted."

Maybe that won't be in vain. Who knows, they'll go down in this amusement park's history as the only ones who managed to technically rob an amusement park game tent empty.

They still have more than enough allowance left. While it's true they've been banned from the game tents, no one said anything about the rides.

Several rides in later, the last ride the two ended up picking up was the Ferris Wheel. In a way, having the least forceful ride to end the day is reasonable. When their ride paused just now, the vehicle they're inside is currently at the top of the wheel.

"Hey, Destroyer?"

He turned away from the window to face her."Hm? What is it?"

"Did you have fun today?" She asked.

World Destroyer kept still before saying, "The park is rather crowded too much for my liking. An owner intentionally rigged his game to cheat the players, and when we beat him at his own game without any tricks, he threw a fit and banned us."

AI Chiaki thought for a while and then replied, "I think I can agree that part sucked too. But other than that, I think this wasn't that bad. Maybe we can try something like this again."

"I suppose I'll consider that as well."

Both knew it'd be a different case if either of them went alone. Good thing the other helped in keeping the less nice part a bit more bearable and made it more enjoyable in the end.


	4. June: Day 4

_**June, Day 4: Water Fight/Water Guns/Water Balloons**_

**Summary:** After a mishap in the garden, the now middle-aged couple engage in a fun 'war' of some sorts.

* * *

A gentle, low stream of water accompanied by equally soft humming resonated throughout a small private garden.

Usually, Chiaki's husband, Izuru, is the one who's in charge of watering these plants in the back garden. He hasn't been home since yesterday due to something urgent that suddenly passed up; there's a chance he won't make it until late morning or noon on the next day. Because of that, for now, she took it upon herself to take care of them the next morning in the meantime. It won't be that much different to taking care of virtual ones.

It helps that there's a bit more knowledge gained on how to properly give the plants' needs ever since she started living with him for more than twenty years now. While a handful or two of those exotic plants kept in here are a bit tougher on their needs, she can safely say that she learned enough to not cause any mistakes that can be fatal for said plants; not that any happened in the past, of course.

This kind of activity is also surprisingly therapeutic, which is a nice thing, so she's not going to complain about that.

"Unnecessary, but appreciated."

To say that the sudden comment from nowhere was startling is a huge understatement.

Due to her focus heavily extensive towards watering the garden, the last thing she expected while in the middle of it was for said husband coming home earlier than anyone thought and unintentionally snuck up behind her.

The hose used for watering the plants earlier was then raised up. Despite the surprise earlier, the woman didn't know how to react to what happened next.

Water with full force sprayed directly onto the man's bangs and face, soaking him while some dripped down on his business suit. It went on for a few more seconds while she turned the hose a bit more, struggling to turn the damned thing off and only ended up making it burst stronger.

The end result is Izuru Kamukura himself not only being soaked from head to toe in cold water, but also having his now-wet long hair and bangs dripping down as it covered his face.

By then, the hose was finally turned off and then discarded to the ground, but the damage is still done.

Perhaps it's because of the fact her husband now looked really ridiculous, or maybe even because it's just the sheer absurdity of the situation, but Chiaki began to chuckle sheepishly. "Whoops."

Izuru's facial expression can't be read due to his long and wet hair covering his face like a certain dog breed. "Even for someone like you, who's supposedly in their forties, that was rather immature." For a silly appearance and all, his tone of voice didn't really change.

That only caused her to try to stifle an upcoming bout of laughter with little success. "I can't help it."

Without another word said, her husband turned and left, presumably to dry himself.

The sight made her feel a little guilty as she stepped out of the garden. _'Did I offend him too much? Maybe I should go back inside and apologize immediately.'_

Immediately after that, Chiaki lightly jumped back with a yelp at the feeling of something cold and wet stream on her back. It only lasted for a few seconds, but that didn't make it any less cold.

Turning back to the source, there stood Izuru, still soaking as earlier, the second hose in hand. "There. Now we're even."

Something sparked inside her.

_'Oh, guess this means war.'_

Quickly grabbing the once-discarded hose, with a cheeky grin she raised it up in preparation, beginning to give chase to her much quicker husband. "Get back here!"

Several minutes later, their two teenaged children end up taking the sight of their parents spraying each other and playing with the garden hoses in general like a pair of teenagers.

The older son started to scratch the side of his head, completely unsure of what to make of it. The younger daughter took one look at her parents and then backed away slowly, dragging her brother inside to hopefully retain some semblance of sanity for that day.


	5. June: Day 5

_**June, Day 5: Hide and Seek**_

**Summary:** World Destroyer isn't sure why he agreed to this childish idea.

* * *

"One...two...three...four...five..."

"Six...seven...eight...nine..."

When he thought about it, World Destroyer isn't sure why he agreed to this childish idea at first.

The counter's voice is barely audible from that point forward. Counting from one to ten is understandably considered too short considering the world they live in; one to one hundred would've been sufficient enough. And yet, someone he knows but won't name insisted on counting numbers from one to one thousand.

In her words, "It'd be a bit fairer, I think."

Perhaps if she were in his place right now, that might've been the case. However, since that's not the case here, considering it to be fair in any way is highly debatable.

It's probably a good thing the counting of numbers isn't audible in his mind. It might've slowed time down in a metaphorical but still tiresome sense, fatiguing even someone like him from the fact on how much longer it'll take.

At least seventeen minutes have passed since, according to the exact time he'd been able to pinpoint. It'll be reasonable for him to assume that the count to one thousand was over since then, maybe even prior to that.

In that case, he should keep himself prepared. Considering how vast these islands are when it came to hiding spots, it won't be easy to find someone.

Although, it's less on the fact it'll be difficult to find someone hiding around here. Actually, it'll lean more on the fact it'll be ridiculously repetitive and tedious for a regular person to search all over the place, especially if one would consider the time it'll take to travel by foot.

Good thing neither he nor his companion was a regular person.

If it were up to him, he'd probably find her by now-

The light from outside burst onto his face at the same time the door was abruptly open. He blinked, adjusting his eyesight as he met with the person in front of him.

"Found you, Destroyer."

'Ah, speaking of the devil.'

He didn't move an inch from his chosen hiding spot. "I expected you to take longer."

His nonchalant comment earned a slight head tilt from the other AI.

"I thought it'd be harder to find you. Guess we both ended up being wrong." Chiaki stepped back a bit, in order to give him some space to move out. "I wonder why you picked this spot to hide in, though. I mean, there are a lot of less obvious hiding spots that are a lot more comfortable."

"There are times where the most obvious choice isn't the first thing anyone would think of. Then again, you're not exactly like anyone." World Destroyer replied, stepping out from beneath the kitchen sink without any trouble.

Not long after, the two decided to switch roles. As with the first round, it's a count from one to one thousand.

And just like the first round, it only took a few minutes after the countdown for World Destroyer to find Chiaki, who somehow thought that the ceiling was a good hiding place.

With enough practice, they'll do this better. Maybe then, they'll be able to play a hide and seek game that isn't hilariously short by a regular person's standards.


	6. June: Day 6

_**June, Day 6: Swimming**_

**Summary:** World Destroyer gives makeshift swimming lessons to AI Chiaki.

* * *

_Splash. Splash. Splash. Splash._

"That's a rather weak paddle. Try to put more force in it." World Destroyer instructed, his hands remained firm in holding AI Chiaki's own hands. Despite his stern voice, a normal person wouldn't be able to take him too seriously because of his current get up consisting of: a life vest, floatation rings on his shoulders, and a life saver on his waist.

Not even a second later, sounds of the female AI's legs continuously paddling against the water is heard in response to that tip. Even with her face literally in water, she can still hear him rather well and clear.

"Too much force." He noted. "You shouldn't lean on either extreme. Find a compromise."

An "Okay, I'll try." muffled by pool water was the response she gave him. Her grip on his hands didn't loosen up as she tried to do as what the other AI advised.

The latest attempt was just that. It wasn't laughably slow and weak, nor was it too fast and forceful. She put a bit more effort on her part, making sure that the paddle can be deemed effective in the long run. Or maybe long swim, to make it more accurate.

World Destroyer commended, "Hmm, that's a good improvement."

"Really? Thanks." The response was also slightly muffled due to her having her face literally in water, but that didn't take away the clear happiness and hints of pride from it. If she can see Destroyer's face right now, she might catch a second of him maybe-smiling for a split second, before returning to his usual stoic face.

If there were passerby's who would've observed the two practice at the hilariously smaller-than-average pool (despite everyone's insistence, AI Chiaki fully knows that it's a kids' pool, not that she minds at all) since they got started, at best they'd scratch their heads at the sight of the girl not lifting her face up to breath, not even once. At worst, they'd get a little more than concern and called for unwanted attention.

Good thing this one's a private area, meant to test their new bodies and do some fine-tuning in case if there were problems. The last thing everyone needs is a false alarm and a heavy explanation to the authorities on why they're not crazy.

Even if it's true that neither of the AI's need to breath oxygen, it didn't change the fact that she sunk down to the bottom of the private pool that's at least seven feet deep, four days ago like a heavy rock. A really, really, really heavy rock. Maybe something heavier than that, actually.

It didn't really hurt her or anything like that, but it was kinda hard to get back up to the surface. It turns out the materials used in the construction of their android bodies, the exoskeleton to be exact, was responsible for that. It didn't help she barely knew how to swim back then.

It's a good thing everyone chose to go to the resort and not the beach when that incident happened, then; everyone will be having a much harder time fishing her out of the sea water if that happened instead.

Kazuichi immediately promised to look for a way to fix that, something about finding a way to help their bodies float up in water naturally. It's still a big work in progress.

Until then, she's having these makeshift swimming lessons with World Destroyer to remedy it a bit. In a way, she doesn't mind it that much.


	7. June: Day 7

_**June, Day 7: Free Day**_

**Summary:** Out of many unusual things going on in a certain room after school, this is one of those she expected the least. Wherein Chiaki walks in to Izuru singing in a free, unclaimed room.

* * *

Out of many unusual things going on in a certain room after school, this is certainly one of the ones Chiaki expected the least. That room isn't officially used by any of the classes or clubs at the moment; it's just an extra one that was kept around for some reason.

For the most part it's rather quiet, but there are times where someone, a single person or even a whole group decides to make use of the free room for some reason.

This afternoon is one of those times.

Usually, a student who's heavily into death metal has taken to using this room to bang their music as much as they wanted without bothering the other classes. Rather fortunate for those classes, but not so much for the poor soul who enters these halls, which is something she can attest to. As free to use the room is, it's not exactly soundproof.

There is some music being played in there, the instruments were an obvious giveaway, but it didn't have any of the typical loud drums, banging bass, or even the unholy screaming. This one is really different.

A few instruments that sounded recognizable were piano, strings, and maybe even a flute. In tone, they sounded soft and serene at first, but merely a few seconds went in, the sounds of thumping drums were slowly weaved in as added percussive beats to the song that was speeding up in pace and tone.

But it wasn't the instrumentals that caught her attention. Rather, it was the singer.

Judging by what she heard, she knew all too well who it was; a dear friend of hers, Izuru. She didn't really recognize the language he was singing in; whatever it was, it didn't sound like it's in either English or Japanese. If she had to make an educated guess, it's either a different foreign language or a made up one.

Still, even if she didn't really understand what was being sung, she can't help but stay there and listen in. Her friend's distinct voice was in a low yet still rich tone, reminding her of the occasional chanting in some video games' battle music.

The way Izuru used his voice wasn't really in that way, though. If anything, it made her think of the epic openings, the intro music of those foreign roleplaying games before you start up the game. Had the background music been a different one, it'd make her think of the scores used in emotional moments of the game, or even a sad boss fight.

Reality of listening in only lasted for several minutes, but as she remained there, listening in to the singer, it felt longer than that. The background instrumentals slowly drifted off, the singer's voice reverberating as they sung the last note.

When the song neared its end, she can't help herself but clap at the end of it and remark, "That was really good, Izuru!"

The once music may have stopped since, but if it were still ongoing, it might've had abruptly stopped as the door lightly opened. Izuru himself stepped out, eyes peering down on her.

"Have you been listening in the whole time?"

"I mean it when I said that. I won't mind hearing you sing again; you have a really nice voice."

"If that's the case," He gestured towards the open door. "You should come in. You'd hear it far better in person compared to hearing it outside. In addition to that, it'd be far more comfortable to sit instead of standing outside."

She gladly accepted that offer.

* * *

**A/N: Whew, that took a lot out of me. Still, I'm glad I managed to finish the first set. One down, two more to go.**

**With that said, I'll take a short break from this, take a breathe of air and then get to work on the next set. This'll be back on July 14 for the second set of prompts (hopefully when I'm not swamped with school work).**


	8. July: Day 1

**July Prompts:**

8\. Caught in the rain/Stuck indoors

9\. Canoeing/Boat ride

10\. Late night movies

11\. Bikes

12\. Video Games

13\. Fort Building

14\. Free Day II

* * *

_**July, Day 1: Caught in the rain/Stuck indoors**_

Summary: Acts of kindness isn't something Izuru Kamukura is familiar with; especially not when it's done for no reason other than just for the sake of it.

* * *

Izuru remembered every detail clearly.

Classes had been dismissed. The excited chatters of his fellow students did little to interest him, so he paid them no mind as he left the classroom. There isn't a single classmate that he knew any more than their name and face; they were all the same to him.

Uninteresting.

Illogical.

Predictable.

It's only fair that those classmates barely knew him in return. He could care any less about their opinions. They didn't matter.

For as long as he can remember, he'd always been by himself when it came to walking home. He didn't mind it; the peaceful solitude is far more refreshing compared to most of the time he'd spent inside the classroom.

Though he hadn't tilted his head to glance upward, the skies had considerably darkened to a gray tint. In hindsight, he supposed that he didn't need to anyways as no sooner than a millisecond passed, the unmistakable sound of thunder roared through his ears.

He lifted a hand. A small droplet lightly dampened his index finger. A moment then, millions of rain droplets poured down on the streets below.

The downpour grew heavier than it did earlier.

Small puddles of water began to form at the ground beneath his feet. The slow and steady pitter-patter of his shoes hitting the puddles reverberated.

Rather predictably, as soon as the other people realized the sudden change in wander, they scrambled like ants, attempting to cover themselves in miniscule attempts to find for cover.

He did no such thing. He continued on his way as if the rain barely bothered him. He didn't even raised a hand up to shield his head somehow from the heavy rain; he knew it won't help that much in any way.

Though going back to his house immediately was his bigger priority at that moment, he had to stop at the curb along the way. The weather caused traffic; it'll take a while before pedestrians will be able to cross the street. That's alright. He can wait.

Other people waiting in line with him had their own covers from the rain, ranging from bags and books, to umbrellas, to the fortunate few who had raincoats on. Everyone had theirs, except for him.

The constant drip-drops of cold water might have bothered another person in his place, he'll admit that. Still, he can manage somehow.

A minute passed. The traffic hadn't improved in the slightest. Rain continued to pour down on his head.

Another minute passed. The traffic hasn't changed at all. The sounds of rain poured on, but none were felt on his head.

Without even looking up, he quickly surmised that someone must have provided a cover for him, most likely with an umbrella. When he did investigate, it was exactly that; someone, a girl presumably similar to his age but was shorter in height, shared her pink umbrella with him. The hoodie she wore didn't do much to obscure her face; even from this direction, he can clearly see the distinctive shape of the curled ends of her hair fanning out from the sides.

There were no such requests from him, and yet there it is.

Several minutes passed. The traffic finally cleared itself at last. The weather has yet to improve, but people were starting to cross over the street as quickly as they can. All save for that girl.

The girl kept her umbrella in the same place as it was in earlier, as if to wordlessly ask him to take it. He tentatively gripped on the handle. The second he did that, she released her grip on it.

He glanced up at the umbrella, and then back to the girl. As if she knew what he was about to say, the girl lightly tugged on her hoodie and said,

"It's okay, you can keep that. I have this."

Without any more words exchanged, he accepted that answer. He parted ways with the girl, the pink umbrella still in his hand as he went on his way back. He was still soaked due to not having any sort of cover earlier, but this is still better than what could've happened instead.

No matter how much time passed since, one thing remained on Izuru's mind.

If he sees that girl again, perhaps he should return the favor in some way.


	9. July: Day 2

_**July, Day 2: Canoeing/Boat Ride**_

**Summary:** A rowboat ride is rather different from the boat rides Izuru is used to, which he quickly realizes.

* * *

Gentle streaks lightly passed from the oar as the pond beneath stayed still. The humble rowboat is carefully rowed forward. Its movements are slow, possibly almost as graceful as that of an aquatic-borne animal swimming in its natural habitat.

This kind of event...

This...this is honestly what Izuru didn't expect at all, nor had in mind, for that matter.

The person who's with him in this ride seemed to be completely unaware of his complicating thoughts. Completely oblivious, Chiaki even hummed a little while rowing in bliss without a care in the word.

She paused, both in humming and rowing, in order to take a better look at their surroundings. "You know, those guys were right, Izuru. I never thought that this kind of boat ride would actually feel pretty great until now."

He chose not to reply. Instead, he opted to stare at the vacant water, as if it might produce something out of the ordinary, something that might catch his interest. It didn't.

Hmph, that should've been expected.

"Izuru?" Her gentle, concerning voice shifted his focus towards her. "Is there something wrong?"

He turned towards her. Chiaki's soft face is filled with worry with a hint of feeling that she managed to upset him somehow. That wasn't the case in the slightest, of course, but she couldn't have known that.

"It's nothing." He replied in an attempt to dismiss her nonexistent but nonetheless justified worry. "I suppose I'm simply getting myself adjusted to this."

"Okay, if you say so." It's easy to tell that his answer didn't completely quell her concern for him, but she decided not to pry further.

Moments later, their ride slowly rocked once more. Despite her relative inexperience when it came to this sort of thing, Chiaki did her best to gently row their rowboat down the pond, lest they hit a rock on the way and cause their rowboat to tip over. The pond may be shallow enough to not cause any worries, but either of them can still catch a cold.

That's a scenario Izuru won't completely mind if it happened, but he had a hunch that it's something that Chiaki can be less tolerant about. It has nothing to do with vanity or any reason like that; if anything, it'll possibly be because the water is cold to the touch, doubly so if one were to be soaked in it. That and the aforementioned chance of catching a cold is unpleasant, even for him.

The ride went on rather smoothly, perhaps a bit too much for his tastes.

This rowboat ride is definitely different from the boat rides he prefers much more. There are no sudden movements coming from the water to rock the boat. Nothing from beneath this peaceful pond is there to stir his interest.

He heard her humming once again, a bit more audible compared to the last one. As he listened on, he might've recognized the song she's humming as a theme from a water level of the game she's played recently.

Izuru closed his eyes in thought.

He'll consider this predictable peace for this time, if only for her sake.


	10. July: Day 3

_**July, Day 3: Late night movies**_

**Summary:** For their late night entertainment, the couple takes a look at the bane of gamers and audiences alike: video game movies.

* * *

"On their own, some of these movies aren't really that bad. Maybe." Chiaki admitted and lightly yawned, even as her attention wavered from time to time. She blinked, trying to retain her focus; she ended up absentmindedly leaning her head on Izuru's lap as a makeshift pillow.

Her companion paid even less attention to the movie than she did. If the movie can't hold her attention, then how can it stand a chance to hold the interest of someone who's known to be bored with almost everything?

"Your reaction implies otherwise, however." Izuru commented.

"I guess. Even though some were really awful, like the Super Mario Brothers movie, at least they're kinda entertaining in the wrong way." She didn't bother to fight back another yawn. "This one's just a chore. I can't even laugh at the inconsistencies of their Postal movie. Seriously, how can these writers mess Postal up, out of all things?"

"Films based on or adapted from video games are universally known to be low in standards when it comes to quality. That's a fact you're all too familiar with, are you not?"

The selection of these movies is admittedly less strange, that is, when you compare it to previous picks last night. America had really bizarre ideas when it came to adapting two of Chiaki's favorite games. At least those decisions gave her a laugh now and then. That, and it solidified the reason why Link should never speak in the games.

Currently, Postal was their fourth movie for tonight and tenth overall for the last few days' video game movie marathon. While being sandwiched between the likes of movie adaptations like Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Silent Hill, and even Rampage, she ended up finding a glimmer of respite from 'Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva'.

Now THAT is how you make a good video game movie.

Chiaki lightly shrugged her shoulders. "That's true, but I think that the movies of Warcraft and Assassin's Creed did okay. Sure, it's not Eternal Diva-quality, but at least they did okay when it came to matching the lore and tone of their source materials."

"It didn't change the fact that the end product was still less than satisfying." He replied.

The rest of the director's poor attempt at a Postal movie went blank in their minds. When the movie ended at last, Chiaki lazily stretched herself up. "Could've been worse. Honestly, it was more boring than plain bad."

"I assume you finally see things from my perspective?"

She correctly assumed that to be his way of lightening the mood. She shook her head and playfully replied, "Maybe if I see one more awful video game movie, there's a good chance of that happening."

As Izuru stood up, temporarily leaving her to turn the TV off, he heard her yawn once more before letting out a sleepy comment.

"Still, out of the live-action ones, Detective Pikachu is definitely the best one so far. Who knows, maybe there's hope for good video game movies after all."


	11. July: Day 4

_**July, Day 4: Bikes**_

**Summary:** For a change of pace, Izuru decides to ride a bike home with Chiaki for that day. If only everyone didn't make a big deal out of it.

* * *

His girlfriend Chiaki blinked, possibly in disbelief at the ride before her eyes. "Izuru, are you really okay with this? There's nothing wrong with it, but..."

He shrugged her concerns off. "It'd be a faster way to travel home compared to doing it by foot. It's also far more practical compared to how media usually portrays the way two people ride a bicyle together."

"Hmm, that makes sense. I guess this will be fun to try." Fully convinced, she nodded and once Izuru got on the bike, she hopped in after him.

Before they take the way home, Izuru thought it'd be for the best to let Chiaki get accustomed to their bike first, fully aware that this is the first time she actually rode on one. It's a bit of a challenge at first, what with her almost falling over to the side while she struggled to retain her balance. Thankfully, he was always quick to catch her before that can happen.

It took some time, but eventually, they've managed to find a steady rhythm in pedalling the bike to the point that there's not much worry of falling over. It's a nice feeling, to be able to do this and work together.

From behind him, his girlfriend basked in the new feeling, in awe of the new experience they're having. He can't really blame. It's actually kind of endearing.

Despite that, it's hard to shake off the feeling that they're being watched. Izuru didn't need to take a look; he can already feel the confused looks from many students around them.

Chiaki seems to have sensed it as well. She didn't say anything about it, seemingly shrugging it off like he did. If she was in the least weirded out by the stares, she didn't really show it.

Amidst the blank stares they've received from other students, the clinking gears of their chosen ride grew to sound more noticeable.

One reaction stood out from the rest, managing to break the silence at last. A boy that Izuru recognized as Ouma, and also took note of, as one of the freshmen coughed and wheezed as soon as they were in his vicinity. The freshman didn't even bother to hide the fact that he's finding the situation funny, even keeling over in laughter as he pounded a fist over the ground.

"What's he laughing about?" Chiaki asked; it's like she had no idea the reason why is right in front of that student. Izuru isn't sure whether that's a good thing or not.

"You shouldn't mind him." He replied, not giving a sliver of attention to the freshman. He didn't say the rest out loud, knowing full well on how she'd react to it. _'No one here takes him seriously anyway, so he shouldn't matter that much.'_

By the time the two got back to their residence, Hajime was there at the gate with his bike, having arrived there before they did. "Woah, you two are earlier today-.." He stopped his sentence, a finger raised in bewilderment.

"Do you have a problem with it?" Izuru asked with a brow raised.

Hajime answered that by sighing and placing a palm over his head.

"Of friggin' course, I shouldn't have been surprised; only a bunch of dorks like you two would unironically ride a tandem bike with straight faces on."


	12. July: Day 5

_**July, Day 5: Video games**_

**Summary: **The Kamukura family spend some quality time together in a normal afternoon.

* * *

"Come on, I'm almost there..." A teenaged boy scrunched up his eyebrows with heavy concentration. Combined with his short, lightly-colored hair and overall softer facial features, a passive observer would say that he mirrors his mother. He's so close to winning just this once; he even managed to catch his mother off-guard and managed to shove her character down the stadium. His eyes widened when he saw another character run towards his, fully knowing what it means. "Wait, hold on-!"

At the last minute, the boy's on-screen character was shoved off the stadium by another one controlled by his sister. The loud announcement of "DEFEATED!" rang through the speakers.

He slumped over, softly bemoaning his fifteenth defeat for that gaming session. "You've beaten me again."

"It can't be helped." His sister, who beared more traits from their father, continued to mash the console's buttons with deep concentration as she faced off against her father. So far, it's a more even and fair match compared to the complete slaughter not long ago. "You didn't get to inherit the 'Ultimate Gamer gene' from either Mom or Dad, after all."

Inwardly, he grimaced at the reminder, but he let out a smile on his face. He's already used to this kind of simple jokes. "That's true, but you didn't need to be so brutal about it, Rin."

"Your sister does have a point." Izuru, father of the two siblings, added. His fingers effortlessly pressed on with the same intensity as his daughter had.

"Not you too, Dad." The son whined.

Chiaki, the siblings' mother decided to give a bit of a break for her son, gently admonishing her husband and daughter. "That's enough picking on Daichi, you two."

She fully knows that it's a regular joke that Daichi seems to be fine with for the most part, but it's for the best if it was managed before it became a bit too personal, just in case. Thankfully, it only happened a handful of times when the two were really young. "Maybe we should play a dancing game next time. I'm thinking of either DDR or Dancing All Night." She added jokingly.

It's rather brief, but Rin paled for a moment; she quickly regained her composure in time to dodge a strike from her father's in-game character.

"Mom, even I know that's going a little too far." Daichi commented. He's knows too well that despite being great at every video game they played together, there is one kind of game that Rin isn't really good at; that being dancing games, the ones that required actual dancing.

"Daichi's a jock. He'd beat you and me really quickly." Rin interjected. "Then again, he probably won't last long against Dad after we're both out."

Daichi's natural activeness gave him a big advantage in those kinds of dancing games when pitted against his sister, that's a fact both siblings knew well. Aside from dancing games, the only ones where he didn't suck are the casual ones and for some reason, Pokemon.

"That may be right, but he still shouldn't be underestimated." Their father added onto the family conversation. He still retains a heavy tie in playing against the last player.

Whenever it concerns the father-daughter in video games, it'll take a while before this round of brawling ends. Not that anyone really minded that much, as long as there was quality time.


	13. July: Day 6

_**July, Day 6: Fort building**_

**Summary: **While getting caught up in between a literal food war, two students who don't want to be part of the conflict do their best to use the available resources to protect themselves.

* * *

It's supposed to be a peaceful lunch today: they should've been eating, maybe chatting a bit or even full-on hangout with their friends on the tables, and shamelessly nom on Hanamura's famously delicious cooking.

All those plans went down in flames as soon as someone uttered the accursed two words in the cafeteria.

"FOOD FIGHT!"

To no one's surprise at that moment, Junko, the school's favorite-slash-least-favorite fashionista was the one who dared to say those two words. She's also the one to throw the first stone in this food war, or rather in this case, the first lunch.

The first lunch thrown ended up hitting Mondo, which in turn, the sheer force of the hit caused the biker gang leader to nearly fall over while passing by Fuyuhiko, accidentally pushing the yakuza heir to faceplant on his fresh lunch.

Needless to say, it all went beyond downhill from there. Curse words and food were thrown at each other. Before everyone knew it, it wasn't just the two hot-headed students going at it; almost everyone got into the action.

Lunch trays were scattered, all sorts of lunch and delicious ammunition were thrown around, and the the screams and yells of many students filled up the cafeteria. A few tables were oven flipped over to the side as panicking students scrambled around for cover.

In the midst of all the chaos, the one who started it all cackled maniacally, deeply satisfied with her work for the day while her sister played babysitter again, dutifully keeping the guilty girl from powdery, spicy harm.

These kind of things were only supposed to be a thing in those western high school movies, darn it.

While everyone was busy, either scrambling to get away from the chaos or worse, adding more fuel to it, in a rare occasion, Izuru stared in surprise at what he was witnessing. It wasn't the food carnage happening right now; rather, it's seeing Chiaki somehow managing to effortlessly pull and then stack the fallen tables as a makeshift fort somehow.

He kept in mind that this is being done by the same girl who can never really catch up to him when it came to physical events.

After placing the last table on top, Chiaki went back to inspect the three meter tall fort. When she was finally satisfied with the table fort, she glanced back at Izuru, gesturing him to come with her.

It's made less sense than the food war going on, but he went in with her anyway.

Now, the two of them sat somewhat comfortably underneath the table fort. Izuru then remarked, "I'm surprised you didn't participate in this event. Aren't these usually events you look forward to?"

"I'm not feeling it today. I don't know why, though." Chiaki replied, a small yawn escaping her. "Maybe next time."

While they stood by in their makeshift table fort, it's easy to notice that many students took great care to not target the two, even with the fort making them a literal big target. It's understandable; ever since the event that'll be forever known as 'The Snowballing Incident' last winter, students began to instinctively avoid involving Chiaki in similar events, not if they wish to avoid the consequences involving her boyfriend. It doesn't help that if many of those students haven't beared witness to the fate of one such unlucky bastard, then they'd most likely heard of it.

That might've been the reason why she isn't feeling like participating today.

As the food war continued to rage on outside for the past three minutes, sometime after that, an important thought occurred to Chiaki. She mentally berated herself for forgetting about it so quickly.

"What about Hajime?" She inquired, shifting a bit in place to face Izuru better."Shouldn't we go get him?"

A familiar voice screamed "DAMN IT, KOMAEDA!" somewhere in the background.

That didn't phase Izuru in the slightest. "He'll manage."


	14. July: Day 7

_**July, Day 7: Free Day**_

**Summary: **AI Chiaki has no idea what to make of the tiny kitten World Destroyer brings home one day. At least, not at first.

* * *

AI Chiaki cautiously peered out at the tiny creature Destroyer brought home. Her fellow AI isn't the kind of person to randomly do stuff like this for no reason, so that's out. At the same time, he knows that she isn't really fond of animals and animals are unnverved by her in return, thanks to the fact they knew she isn't really a biological being, so that's out too.

Through the way her body tensed up, even without saying it out loud, Destroyer easily interpreted what she wanted to say.

_'Destroyer, why? I'm not upset or anything like that, but why?'_

The kitten was held in the male android's arms. It looked rather comfortable in his grip, not fussing like most kittens would if they're held. It probably helps that Destroyer had made sure to support the kitten's lower body, so that it won't feel like it'll fall from that height.

"It latched itself onto me, quite literally if I may add." Destroyer explained. "Considering that I'm not human and do not have any food for it, the fact it chose me of all people was something I couldn't have predicted."

That's fair enough, she guess, if even Destroyer didn't foresee this at all. "Does Tanaka know about this? " She asked.

He replied to her with a nod, "He does."

"But for some reason, he didn't take it with him?"

"He told me it'd be best if the kitten were to stay with me."

At the same he said that, said kitten yawned, closing its wide eyes while opening its tiny mouth, before relaxing itself then and there, snuggling against him. If her ears didn't play any tricks on her, she swore that she actually heard it purr as well. It's a bit endearing, but still.

The female android figured that she shouldn't be surprised. Given the way the kitten acted around Destroyer, of course the graduated Ultimate Breeder saw him fit to be the tiny furry baby's guardian and caretaker.

Despite her initial thoughts, AI Chiaki tentatively lifted an index finger to the kitten. It's eyes focused on her finger, not showing any sign of hostility; rather, it looked curious.

She turned towards him, as if to both ask for permission and a bit of help for her next move. He nodded as if to say _'Go on. It'll be fine.'_

Her finger reached closer to the tiny thing, allowing it to sniff and inspect her. If AI Chiaki had functioning lungs, she would've held her breathe at that moment. A bite from an animal won't really harm her in the slightest, but due to her body's artificial nerves, she'll most likely still feel it.

Instead of a bite, the kitten let its tiny tongue out, lightly licking the finger. The sensation tickled a bit. She couldn't help but end up pulling her finger away, causing the kitten to look up at her expectantly. She then began to place the same finger at the base of its ears and proceeded to rub it there. Contented purrs vibrated from the kitten's throat, enjoying the attention.

A hint of happiness is present in Destroyer's tone as he remarked, "It looks like it has grown over you as well."

Guess that this is a start for both of them.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the many, many delays of the July prompts. I was really busy with tons of schoolwork. Here's to hoping it won't happen as much in August.**


	15. August: Day 1

**August Prompts:**

1\. Fireworks/Sparklers

2\. Fireflies

3\. Museum

4\. Relaxing/Sleeping in

5\. "Tag, you're it!"

6\. Cooling off/Beating the heat

7\. Free Day III

* * *

_**August, Day 1: Fireworks/Sparklers **_

**Summary: **When an early-than-usual fireworks display wakes them up too early, there are two choices Chiaki has: either check it out, or go back to sleep with Izuru. It's obviously not the first one.

* * *

The familiar sets of noises can be easily heard outside. It's rather loud for this night, since said noises can be heard even within the range of bedroom.

_Boom. Boom. Boom._

Shifting a bit from the bed, Chiaki yawned and rubbed her eyes, still drowsy from having her sleep interrupted. It hasn't even been two hours since they've gone to bed that night, at least around 10 PM. "Guess they started a lot earlier this time."

"So I've noticed." Looks like the unwanted noises outside woke Izuru up too.

With him being the less drowsy of the two, he took the initiative, slightly opening the side windows to take a closer look outside.

Sure enough, single streams of hot light, each one with different hues of its own, raced towards the sky. Within seconds, the single streams burst into different shapes. Some were pretty simple, others had a bit more complicated design choices. Either way, all of them were shapes thinly connected through lines sticking themselves close enough together.

Fireworks, as they've both thought.

Chiaki lazily pushed herself out of their bed, managing to get her balance back up. She hazily stood behind Izuru, taking in the sight of the fireworks as much as her tired eyes could.

They were really nice and wonderful. If she were more attentive, she'd recognize one firework form up the shape of an obscure, almost forgotten video game character from the 90's. At the moment, however, her mind didn't fully process that.

Not even two minutes in the fireworks display, she yawned once more. Without warning, she sort-of waddled back to the bed and gracelessly crashed head-first onto the soft pillows.

Though she can't really see him from this view, she can hear him ask, "You're not going to watch the rest of the fireworks?"

The warmth and softness of the sheets and pillows were temptingly lulling her back to sleep quickly.

"Nope. Maybe next time." She mustered up enough willpower to stave it long enough to reply. If she were more awake and less sleepy, not to mention prepared for it, she might have appreciated the fireworks display a bit more.

Some weight shifted next to her, indicating that Izuru has rejoined her side. As her eyelids slowly closed, she mumbled out tactlessly, "I just wanna sleep with you now."

This isn't the first time Izuru heard a sentence like that, or any similar variations of it. He's since gotten used to it and fully knows that it's more on the innocent and literal side. It's alright if it's just the two of them.

Still, it didn't mean that others are aware of that, especially concerning a former classmate or two from their high school days whom he won't name. There are some people who don't know better than to put their mind in the gutter repeatedly, even if it's been disproven multiple times. Again, he knows all too well about those experiences.

Lightly sighing, he told her, "Chiaki, you know you should choose your words more carefully next time."

Breathy snores were the only reply he received. Clearly, she didn't hear him.


	16. August: Day 2

_**August, Day 2: Fireflies**_

**Summary:** The AI's watch over some beautiful lights at night, although World Destroyer might have mistaken it for something else at first.

* * *

"Hey, you should look at this."

Fingers smaller and far nimbler than his tugged onto the side of his shirt. The male AI turned his head back, facing towards the direction where AI Chiaki called his attention. He raised his head up.

The inky black sky was filled up with stars; as a matter of fact, he can recognize a few constellations here and there. There's Aquila, Lyra, and even Sagittarius to name some. It's certainly a sight to behold, even he'd admit that.

However, for him, it wouldn't be anything too special. Although, he can definitely see why such things might catch the attention of his friend-

AI Chiaki suddenly put a hold on that thought of his. "Destroyer, you're looking the wrong way."

"I don't understand what you mean by that." He hadn't turned his sight away from the sky just yet. Exactly how was he looking it the wrong way? What else is there?

She gestured to a location a bit lower than he initially thought. A hint of amusement was in her tone when she then clarified, "You're looking up a bit too high, silly."

"Perhaps you should have told me from the start." He quipped.

The female AI paused for a millisecond, likely in thought. "It wouldn't be as fun if I did that, probably."

How typical of her, he mused. Nevertheless, he did as he was told, lowering his gaze on a place somewhere which met him at eye level. As soon as he did, he heard her ask,

"Do you see them now?"

If this is what she meant from the start, then perhaps he has.

The specific area wasn't quite as high as the sky he briefly glanced over moments ago; it wasn't at the ground's level either. It's somewhere of being in-between both.

Dozens and pairs of tiny lights crowded on the forests of trees beyond, or rather, that's what an innocent child would've thought of at first. Neither he nor his friend have seen one in person until now; still, he fully knows what those lighting creatures were, and the reason why they gathered at this time.

"You wanted me to see those fireflies?"

AI Chiaki hummed in affirmation.

Destroyer narrowed his gaze at the fireflies. "I don't know what made you interested over them.

"I just think that they look really nice tonight."

"Aside from the fact they light up their abdomens to attract mates, there is nothing that makes them any more special compared to similar insects."

"I don't know if I really agree with that, Destroyer. I mean, what you said there has a point," She admitted. "But, that's not all that there is to fireflies; they do have something else that makes them stand out, not just their light. At least, that's what I like to think."

AI Chiaki then cheekily added, "Besides, it'd be like saying humans aren't that different compared to apes."

"What you brought up is a completely different case, however." Destroyer refuted.

The tiny lights over the trees slowly faded, one by one.


	17. August: Day 3

_**August, Day 3: Museum**_

**Summary:** When he momentarily loses sight of AI Chiaki in a museum trip, World Destroyer opts to use a more unconventional solution to find her.

* * *

_'Sometimes, I just can't believe that girl...'_

World Destroyer mentally berated himself. The first three hours of this trip at the video game museum had gone rather smoothly. There weren't too many people at this time of day, which meant there were less chances of getting lost in the crowds.

That said, since this museum is dedicated to video games, quite possibly the thing the female AI loves the most (aside from her friends, her creators, and him, of course), so he should've seen this coming in hindsight.

On the plus side of this situation, he knows that his companion is far from defenseless. Any unlucky human who'll try something will be greeted with a very harsh surprise. That, and possibly a few broken knuckles.

He glanced over the area within his vicinity. To any normal passerbys, he'd look like just another museum visitor who's taking a look at some artifacts of video game history that might've piqued his interest.

In reality, Destroyer is currently scanning everything in search for the missing AI, using the advantage his android body granted his sight which a normal human body severely lacks.

Despite that, however, for some reason, no matter how hard he searched and searched, he couldn't find a single sign of her. He couldn't see any traces of her unique pink-colored outline in between the junks outlined in white and human bystanders outlines in blue.

It looks like drastic situations call for drastic measures. He'll have to thank Hajime later for showing him those pictures; it gave him an idea in this situation.

Destroyer breathed in, breathed out. His voice was firm; it was soft enough to remain unheard by any of the human's ears, but it's volume was enough to be registered by a fellow AI's specialized hearing.

Words that were powerful, but also served as double-edged sword against the bearer, were released from his lips.

"Removing the National Dex from the Galar region is a wise decision on Nintendo's part."

It felt like time itself froze for a moment or so.

The easiest part was over. Next comes the part which may be less easy.

World Destroyer braced himself against the inevitable impact.

Three...

Two...

One...

The floor rumbled with crazed steps which rapidly tapped against it. He didn't need to see it; just from the force alone, he can already visualize a familiar pink outline zoning in onto his location.

A second passed. Said familiar face bumped onto his back; it's a bit difficult to tell if she stopped on her own accord or if the weight of his construct was resilient enough to do it.

AI Chiaki stepped back, glaring at him with the intensity only a big gamer with the least threatening facial features can muster up.

"No, it isn't!"

Well, there she is.

If he'd released those words in a volume the humans can hear, a dogpile might've been what greeted him instead. Then again, he doubts that.

Sometimes, he just can't believe that girl.


	18. August: Day 4

_**August, Day 4: Relaxing/Sleeping in**_

**Summary:** On a lazy day, AI Chiaki gets comfty and sleeps on World Destroyer.

* * *

For a tropical island that's only a simulation of the real thing, the place is really soothing, especially if someone was to stay under the shade of a tree. AI Chiaki knows that she should get to work later for that day; there's a lot of things both her and World Destroyer need to patch up at the program.

Right now, though, her limbs don't feel like getting up. She stayed in her designated comfort zone, allowing her body to slowly relax to the warmth.

Her eyes were tempted to shut close right then and there; for a moment, they did, alright. She allowed herself a yawn to come out. She was about to take a nice, long nap at that very place; it's comfortable enough for her.

"Don't you wish to get up? There are other places far more comfortable than this one." World Destroyer's voice interjected from beneath her.

She cracked an eye open and met up with the face of the male AI, glancing down at her. She closed that same eye and let out another yawn. Her reply is a bit soft due to her mumbling it, but it was audible enough for him to hear it.

"Mmm, later. 'mma sleepy, Destroyer."

He didn't seem convinced. "Are you sure about that? I thought you'd want to sleep at your cottage."

That made her think; the idea didn't sound too bad, actually. She kind of wanted to consider it, but after a while, she answered to that by leaning onto him a bit more. "Later. Can't move right now."

"If you can't move, then I'll have to carry you."

"Don't have to do that. I like it here."

Seeing how deadset she was on staying there, he relented to that request, for now at least. He might carry her there once she's completely asleep. That's an option he can have later.

The next couple of minutes were quiet for the most part. The male AI, the same one who'd destroy viruses and other similar threats to the program with ease, figured he might as well relax too. He leaned back onto the tree behind him. The shade provided by it is alright, he'll admit that. The breeze helped in achieving the soothing effect with that as well.

And then, out of nowhere with no buildup whatsoever, AI Chiaki mumbled out loud to him,"Your chest is kinda hard, but it's really warm and comfty."

She didn't see how Destroyer reacted to that, and to be frank, she didn't really need it. It's really easy to visualize Destroyer with an "!" atop his head as a reaction to what she said. Sometimes, she just can't help but tease him with stuff like these; his reactions can get really, really funny.

Relishing in his confused feelings, AI Chiaki's chest heaved in and out as she let herself drift to heavy sleepiness. Destroyer's chest is warm, and if the opportunity presents itself, she'll try to see if it's huggable.

Yep, this is totally fine.


	19. August: Day 5

_**August, Day 5: "Tag, you're it!"**_

**Summary:** As children, Izuru wanted to decline an initiation of a tag game from Chiaki; big keywords being 'wanted to'.

* * *

Poke.

Izuru blinked. So brief that initial touch might've been to the point it was all too easy to simply forget about it happening at all, the suddenness of it stirred something in him. Interest, perhaps? Annoyance is a more likely reason for that. Whatever the reason was, he certainly never experienced this kind of touch before.

He turned around was met with pink eyes that belonged to a girl as young as he is. Chiaki Nanami, if he remembered her name correctly. The boy wondered if she was the one responsible for the touch earlier. She could be, since besides him, she is the only one around; the other children have busied themselves with each other.

As if on cue, the girl raised a finger up and lightly tapped him on the shoulder, poking him once again. "Tag."

Few moments of silence passed. Izuru raised a brow up. The girl continued to stare at him expectantly. Neither of the two children made any attempts to talk or make an action for their next move.

The silence broke when the boy decided to ask, "...What was that for?"

"You're 'it' now, Izuru." The girl replied in affirmation, perhaps a bit confused on why he didn't get it, judging by the way she tilted her head as she said that.

The simple answer didn't do it for him, however. "What do you mean by 'it'?" He questioned.

Chiaki scrunched up her eyebrows in concentration, as if trying to comprehend the subject before she can explain it to him. "When someone tags you, you're supposed to chase them. Then, you tag them and then they'll have to chase you again."

"Is there a way to end that?"

"It ends when all players want to, I think."

"In that case," He turned, walking away from her. "I am not interested."

As soon as he did that, she stubbornly followed after him, pleading, "Wait! Can you try it just this time? Please?"

"Why don't you play with the others, then?"

Rather abruptly, she stopped following him. Head bowed, she breathed with heaviness in her chest. "I'm sorry. I won't bother you again."

He heard her footsteps walking away from his distance. He should feel satisfied that she finally left him alone, and for a moment, he thought he was.

However, as he continued on his way, something heavy reared its way on his chest. He never felt anything like it before. Why is he starting to feel, what's the word for it, is it 'guilt'?

Why is he feeling it? Whenever someone feels guilt, it's because they knew they've done something wrong. As far as he knew, he has done no such thing, and yet, why is he feeling that emotion?

No matter the reason why, he didn't like that feeling at all.

When he attempted to search for her, he saw that she hadn't left the park yet. Instead, she sat by a small corner by herself, fiddling with a console.

The boy went up beside her. The girl noticed his presence immediately as she paused her game, looking up at him in confusion.

Without any warning, Izuru poked her on the shoulder.

"Tag, now you're 'it', Chiaki."

This was the first time he saw her smiled. It certainly won't be for the last time, either.


	20. August: Day 6

_**August, Day 6: **__**Cooling off/Beating the heat**_

**Summary:** AI Chiaki finds herself watched over by World Destroyer after she overheated herself.

* * *

AI Chiaki slightly shifted underneath the covers.

Even with the air conditioner engulfing the room in its cold temperature, the stern and scrutinizing gaze of World Destroyer appeared as though it could completely undo said cold temperature with just one look. Despite that, however she can tell that he wasn't as upset now as he was two days ago. If anything, the look is kinda a normal thing now; he is making sure that her recovery goes as smoothly as possible.

She and World Destroyer had a really casual conversation just to kill some time; she may be unable to play video games at all for now, but as long as Destroyer was there, she doesn't completely mind it.

Eventually, World Destroyer excused himself, saying that he'll take a quick catnap. He lowered his head and closed his eyes; he hadn't left his chair, opting to stay still and sleep right there. Although she had no idea how much time had passed when that happened, she'll guess that it's probably been at least evening right now.

Her limbs can move just fine, but at the moment, she was told not to move them that much for a few more days. It feels weird and, not to mention, kinda boring to be stuck in bed all day long without doing something, anything to occupy herself, even if isn't video games.

Sure, she can take a nap like World Destroyer is doing now, but that's really hard to do when you no longer feel as sleepy; she had already slept a lot yesterday. It doesn't help that a lot is going on in her mind right now.

The AI sighed, turning over to her side in an attempt for a more comfortable sleeping position. She tried to close her eyes; maybe she'll eventually fall asleep after a while of keeping them close.

She remembered what he told her earlier that day, right before he tucked her into bed two days ago.

_'Our bodies are completely unable to experience heatstroke on the same context as humans do, that much is a fact. It doesn't mean that you may overexert your body past its limits, especially not on a day with high temperature.'_

Yeah, she really messed up back there. Yes, she knows that as brutally honest those words were, he was really worried for her at that time. If it weren't for Kazuichi quickly intervening to stabilize her body, she would've had serious complications that wouldn't be easily fixed.

She guess that she still feels really bad about doing that, making him heavily worry over her because of her carelessness. He didn't need to watch over her to make sure she's alright, he could've easily had someone else do it, but he still did anyway.

She still hadn't fallen asleep thanks to those thoughts, but one thing is certain in her mind.

The least she can do for him is to not make a repeat of this incident. That, at the very least, she's very confident to do.


	21. August: Day 7

**_August, Day 7: Free Day_**

**Summary:** Izuru takes Chiaki out on a flight, allowing her to experience the skies on the same level as dragons do. Dragon Maid AU.

* * *

Today was a Sunday morning, so thankfully, Chiaki didn't need to worry about getting to any of her classes or even work. On days like these, she's all the more content to just stay inside, curl herself up in a blanket within an air-conditioned room, and do nothing but play video games and laze around all day long.

It appears that Izuru, the guy who's been living with her for the past four months, had different ideas. He cocked his head, likely in disbelief, at the sight of the human he has grown fond of over time, loafing around like a simple and contented farm animal.

"Don't you wish to do something different for today?" He asked her. This wasn't the first time he'd seen her act this way, and for a while, was alright with not bothering her. This time, however, he'd wish she broke her typical schedule just this once, if she'd be alright with that. Though he's not really human, even he knows that it won't be healthy for a human to be stuck that way in the long run.

The humans of this world may have been kinder, but they were really lazy compared to the ones from his world.

She shrugged, replying without taking the chance to pause her current match. "It's always been this way for as long as I remember, so I might have gotten used to it."

Prior to meeting Izuru, she never really talked to people aside from Nagito; as nice as Nagito was, even then he's more of a co-worker she happened to get along with and not as much as a really close friend to indulge her secrets with.

"I see."

The human yawned, rubbing her eyes as her console's screen flashed yet another victory screen for her victorious match. "But, I guess I won't really mind doing that. Do you have anything to do in mind?"

Izuru thought about it. On one hand, what he's thinking is something many members of his kind will heavily frown upon. On the other hand, considering the fact that he's thought to be dead by them and that this is the one human he enjoys the company of, he could care any less about what they think.

Still, if his brother Hajime hears about this, he'll surely never let him it down.

"Do you remember what happened a week ago?" He asked her.

Chiaki scrunched up in thought, trying to remember what happened that week. "Hmm, I was running late to work, right? I think you asked me if I wanted to hitch a ride with you, but I was in a big hurry, I didn't really reply to that." She sheepishly grinned at the memory. "You teleported me to the place I was working at anyway. I appreciate the thought now, but back there, that's a little uncalled for."

"Would you have preferred if I carried you there myself instead?"

"Um...I, uh, well..." She went red for a second there. Did he meant that in his dragon form, or in his human form? It'll be fine if it's the former, but if it was the latter...oh she's never going to live that down.

Thankfully, he decided to give some mercy to her. "I was only jesting."

She sighed in relief, only to then ask him, "So, why'd you ask me about that? Does it have something to do with what you wanted to try today?"

She admittedly got surprised when he nodded, confirming her thoughts.

"As a matter of fact, it does."

"Does that mean, you want me to go on a flight with you today?"

He didn't miss a beat as he replied, "You've figured it out."

It's tempting. But from what many video games' lores taught her, she's rather unsure. "No offense to that, but are you really okay with that? I thought that dragons think it's humiliating for a human to ride on them."

"That is the norm, if that's what you're wondering. If I allow it, do you still think I'm demeaning myself?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. But, if you're completely willing, then I guess it's not?"

That answer was satisfactory for them both. Not the best one, but it's good enough.

Outside on the building's rooftop, Izuru had shed off his human disguise, turning himself back into his true form. Chiaki noticed that as soon as he changed back, there was a green glow engulfing his body. If she guessed correctly, then this is that spell that blocks perception of normal humans.

She'd seen him as a dragon many times before to the point of getting used to it, but she can't help but continue to be awed by it. He had a more crocodilian-like face compared to the traditional look of dragons; long, shaggy black mane that reflected his human form ran down his head. As opposed to the four-legged dragons that were commonly used, he didn't have forelegs; instead, his wings, when folded, functioned as the same limbs he used on the ground to walk.

_'You kinda remind of a Skyrim dragon.' _She remembered telling him once.

Izuru lowered his head onto her level. Chiaki looked over him, thinking of the best way to climb up to him. She tentatively placed a foot on top of his massive snout and then grabbed on a rough scale, hauling herself up and then sat comfortably on the back of the base of his neck.

The dragon lifted his head up. The human held on to his mane, a way to prevent herself from falling off; this was really nerve-wracking, but also really exciting at the same time.

The pair allowed a few moments to pass by to help them both get adjusted to this arrangement. Once that passed, he turned towards her and asked, **_"Are you ready?"_**

A part of her is still unsure about this; nevertheless, she nodded and said, "I'm as ready as you are."

He snorted, a puff of air escaping his nostrils.**_ "You're the first, and highly likely the only human, to experience these skies the same way my kind does. Keep that in mind."_**

She can't help but laugh at that. "You know, you really don't need to play that up anymore. You're starting to sound like those dragons in video games you didn't like."

An amused rumble vibrated from his throat.

The dragon reared himself up, standing on two legs. A soft yelp escaped the human's lips, keeping her grip on. The dragon then spread his wings, and began to flap them experimentally. He hovered off the ground by a few feet or so.

It didn't take that long for him to completely take off into the sky, dashing at a speed that would make an airplane experience envy if it were to become sentient.

The accelerating speed going up was the last thing Chiaki expected; her grip onto the dragon's mane was so tight, it would've made her knuckles go white.

"Izuru-!" She half-shouted, half-pleaded. Something pumped up into her veins; she had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, it raised up her heartbeat.

He flew up, and up, and up, lettings his wings flap every once in a second or so, until they were above the clouds. He slowed his flight down to an almost halt. His wings were still spread to retain their flight, but compared to their launch not too long ago, they didn't flap rapidly. Judging by the new pace he's going, he'll probably flap them every few seconds or so.

The rush faded after a minute passed. Chiaki heavily breathed, recovering herself from the exhilarating startup. When she had completely calmed down, she glanced to her side. She's never flown on an airplane before this; she never thought that she'd see the skies up this close before, at least not this way.

"Woah..." She curiously poked a puff of cloud beside her; a small hole imprinted by her finger was left behind.

Izuru spoke up. **_"I apologize for the suddenness earlier. I've forgotten that humans are not used to flights like these."_**

"Oh no, no, no. It's fine, really." She waved her hands around. "It wasn't that bad; it's kinda like riding a roller-coaster, actually."

"If you say so."

"Still, I'm really glad you let me do this, Izuru." Chiaki told him, sincerity in her voice. "I'll admit that I never paid attention to skies before, but now that I'm seeing them up close here, I never knew that they were so beautiful. I wonder, is this is how you feel whenever you fly up here?"

The dragon paused. He never thought of flying the skies up that way. He saw flying the same way as walking; it's just a way for him to get from one territory to another. He supposed that it should've been expected; humans never flew, not this way."

Izuru rumbled a reply. **_"For now, that's a possibility."_**

They flew around for a little while longer. Chiaki took the mesmerizing sights in; she sometimes looked down and can't help but feel amazed to see everything look so small from up there.

At the near end of their flight, Izuru then told her, **_"We're going back home. Before that, I must warn you; it may feel quicker compared to what happened ago. If necessary, I may try to slow down, but it's not a guarantee."_**

"After experiencing that, I think I'll be fine." She replied. "I think that's the same logic applied in a lot of rides, actually."

**_"You're taking this a lot easier than I thought. Very well, then."_**

The dragon tucked his wings in, allowing himself to gracefully fall from the sky. The human retained her grip onto him, now fully appreciating the rush that came with the dragon's flight.

Before the dragon can hit the streets below, he spread his wings once again, flapping them as he gained speed. While on their way home, the human hollered on with heavy enthusiasm.

"WOOHOO!"

* * *

**A/N: Whoo, finally finished this at last! **

**I'll admit that as sad as it is to see The Kamunami Side be over after August 31, I'm still really happy to be have been a part of it. It's thanks to the blog and many, many other talented writers like Apo, Kimmy, and Mid Kibou themselves that I've found countless of inspirations to get myself back into writing. **

**I might have said this probably a million times over, but I'm very thankful for Mod Kibou to have created the blog, managing these events, and overall just being a good person and friend. **

**Again, a personal thanks to Mod Kibou for letting this happen. Hope things continue to go swell for you.**


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